Of Cat's and Mice
by Ruby-Castle
Summary: What would happen if Kabuto found Neji after the fight with Kidoumaru? And what if Kimimaro didn't die but instead got amnesia and a new lease on life after the fight with Gaara?
1. Unexpected Findings

Of Cat's and Mice

A/n: This fic is episode related; it takes place directly after episodes 116-117: A cool guy's burning battle! The genius ninja will go wild special. Right after the fight between Neji and Kidoumaru. And let's just assume that Orochimaru has just sent Kabuto to go bring back Kimimaro's body, and let's also assume that Kimimaro didn't die, because that was just so wrong, wasn't it?

And I'm also going by the subtitled Japanese version (in case you couldn't tell already) so those of you watching the dubbed version be warned, there are spoilers ahead.

Ages ('cause they can be damn confusing):

Orochimaru: 51

Sabaku no Gaara: 12

Uchiha Sasuke: 12

Hyuuga Neji: 13

Kaguya Kimimaro: 15

Yakushi Kabuto: 19

Chapter 1: Unexpected Findings

Kabuto flew through the forest, his feet hardly touching the tree branches before he was off again. It was the closest he had ever come to flying and the perfect place to clear his head and think. He was on his way to bring back the body of Kimimaro, the former leader of the former Sound Five.

He felt his mouth twitching upwards into a smirk. He wasn't happy, necessarily, but he couldn't deny being amused. The great Sound Five: brought down by a mismatch bunch of teenagers. No, not even teenager, kids, mere children had defeated the Sound Villages greatest fighters. On one hand, he was angry because this was a great blow against Orochimaru and a humiliating defeat, ….but….he had never really liked them anyways and wasn't shedding any tears to see them go. Besides, Orochimaru still had him. He wasn't about to go and get himself killed by some scrawny twelve year olds.

He touched down on a large tree branch and looked around. He was near the place Kidoumaru had been fighting, wasn't he? Kabuto smirked. He should pay his former comrade a visit, maybe get a good laugh and dance on his ugly eight-limbed body for awhile before finding Kimimaro. It wouldn't take long, he thought, taking off through the forest once more and keeping his eye's open for any hint of the overgrown spider. It didn't take long to spot the scene of the fight. He had to roll his eyes; it was about what he had expected from the man, spider webs and spider corpses everywhere, it was a disgrace. He searched the area for the body of the arachnid but couldn't find any trace of him. Kabuto rolled his eyes, and was about to turn away when something caught his eye. Something was shining, almost glowing, through the trees. He moved to get a closer look.

A bright beam of light was shining through a gap in the tree branches and illuminating the ground and the creature laying, curled up and unconscious underneath it. A few feet away was Kidoumaru, sprawled on the ground and clearly dead. Kabuto hardly spared him a glance, he just wanted to know who this angelic creature was who had seemingly fought Kidoumaru and won, not an easy task for sure (he hated the spider but even he couldn't deny his strength).

As the creature came into focus Kabuto gave a startled sound. He knew this 'creature' and it was far from heavenly.

It was the boy from Konoha, the one who had fought in the Chuunin exams and lost to Naruto: Hyuuga Neji, the genius of the Hyuuga Clan. One of the most promising students from the Konoha Village and rivaled only by Uchiha Sasuke for pure talent.

He hadn't been so impressive in the Chuunin exam, in Kabutos opinion; in fact, he had been somewhat of a disappointment. Getting beaten by Naruto of all people, and this was supposed genius of the most powerful clan of Konoha Village. Kabuto had dismissed him immediately after that.

He looked back at the fallen body of Kidoumaru.

Quietly, Kabuto knelt down beside the fallen boy and studied him intently. Maybe he had jumped to conclusions; after all, the kid had just taken down one of the Sound Five. No matter how much he hated them he couldn't deny they were powerful.

Kabuto brushed the hair from Neji's pale face. The black hair was loose, the tie and forehead protector that normally held it back were missing, giving him a strangely innocent appearance. The only thing that marred the perfection was the cursed seal, burning a sickly acid green on the pale forehead.

For a long while the Sound Ninja knelt, thinking. The boy was obviously very powerful and intelligent which Orochimaru would appreciate, but even more than that he had the Hyuuga bloodline limit: the Byakugan, much like the Sharingan and the Shikotsumyaku, an extremely rare and powerful trait. Wasn't that why Orochimaru had chosen both Kimimaro and Sasuke? Not to mention the boy was undoubtedly beautiful, another trait Orochimaru would appreciate. And with the Sound Five dead he would need to find new soldiers so why not start with, not one, but two powerful fighters, both with unique bloodline limits and both possible containers for the future. He was positive Orochimaru would be pleased to have the two genius students of Konoha as his own. Sasuke was already willing; it would be a small task to convince Neji to join them once he saw all they could offer him.

Yes.

Kabuto made his decision, he could bring back Kimimaro's body later. Orochimaru would be pleased with his choice, he knew.

Scooping up the limp body, Kabuto leapt up onto a tree branch and headed back to the Sound Village, bothering to spare a second glance at the body of Kidoumaru.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

His head hurt. His body hurt. He hurt all over. The last thing he remembered was eye's, shocked, wide, mint green eyes. But why? Oh, yes, he remembered, he had been about to hurt the owner of those eyes, but he didn't know why. He didn't know how he ended up in this field.

The pale boy looked around, trying to figure out what had happened. He only remembered those eyes…and feeling very sick. And his name, he knew what his name was, it was in there somewhere. He tried to say his name. It felt strange to try forming words, not because he had forgotten but there was something wet in his throat that was making it hard to speak and when he did manage it sounded sickly and hoarse.

"Kimimaro," he whispered, voice rattling wetly in his throat, "I'm Kimimaro."

He waited a moment as if the sound of his name would send someone running to him, but nothing happened. Kimimaro slowly sat up, wincing at the pain all over his body and in his mind. It took an effort even to do such a small thing but when he was up the field was better visible than before but seemed twice as empty as before.

Like a child he sat looking around to see if anyone would come help him. It was a foolish hope, he knew, but somebody out there was surely looking for him. Somebody was wondering where he was and cared that he was sitting in the middle of an empty forest with no idea who he was. Somebody HAD to care. The longer he sat there the more he began to worry. He gave a small cough, rattling the liquid inside his throat. The tissues inside his airway began tickling lightly but the tickling soon escalated into a burning pain and he began coughing uncontrollably into his hands, his entire body shaking and seizing up in pain. It took a long time to completely clear his throat and it seemed as if, my the time he was done, he had coughed up half of his internal organs. But he felt much better. A lot better actually, he must have coughed up whatever was bothering him.

Kimimaro looked down at his hands to see what it was and gasped. The thin, pale hands were soaked with blood. HIS blood! He had just coughed up a pool off blood into his hands! If he wasn't scared before he was terrified now. There was something seriously wrong with him but he couldn't remember what it was. What was wrong with him? Was he dying? Was he already dead? Could this be his hell, an eternity alone in an empty field? The questions began coming so fast and his eyes began burning with suppressed tears of fear and frustration until he finally managed to snap himself out of it. He wasn't dying, he wasn't dead, and he wasn't in hell.

The shaken boy took a deep, claming breath, looking down at his hands and noticed something strange in the pool of blood. Nervously he poked at the strange thing, picking it up in his slippery fingers and bringing it close to his face. It looked like a tiny figurine. He wiped the blood off on the grass and cleared away the excess with the edge of his robes so he could finally see the strange white figure underneath.

It looked like some sort of demon, an ugly grinning thing holding a tiny dagger in one hand and a skull in the other. Kimimaro frown at it for a moment before finding a place for it in his torn robes. He'd worry about the strange figurine later, but for now he needed to find someone, someone who could tell him who he was or where he came from. But he didn't know where to find that someone who could do all that. The only thing he could remember was those pretty, mint green eyes. Maybe he could find the green eyed person. It was the only shot he had.

Resolutely, Kimimaro staggered to his feet, swaying unsteadily and feeling weak in the knees. As tired and hurt and sick as he was, staying in that field was not an option. He had to find the green eye's, he knew everything would become clear once he found them. They would answer all his questions, he was sure of it.

A/N: OMG! It's been YEARS since I've last written fanfiction and writing this was like trying to squeeze water from rocks! It's hard getting back into it, I mostly write original now so I have to keep reminding myself that I have to keep them in character. Well, I'm such a geek when it comes to Naruto, it shouldn't be too hard….I hope.

We'll see what happens….

Hope u enjoyed the first chapter.


	2. Captivity

Of Cat's and Mice

Chapter 2: Captivity

A/N: Ok, this chapter is entirely about Neji, no Kimimaro…yet. The next chapter will be entirely about Kimimaro. I don't know if I'm going to keep doing it like that but for now it works.

Neji woke up quietly. He didn't open his eyes, didn't change his breathing, he didn't move a muscle. It wasn't normally the way he woke up but something was wrong, he could sense it even with his eyes closed. The last thing he recalled he had been fighting the spider-like man.

He was sure he had won but at the very end it seemed as if he had traded his own life for the victory. But here he was, alive. Somebody had saved him and he was positive it wasn't anyone from Konoha. This place was dark and cool and reeked of blood.

Cautiously, Neji cracked open an eye, just enough to peer under his eyelashes. To much and his silver eye's would be visible and as much as he loved his eyes they were to noticeable

"Don't play games."

Neji jumped in surprise, his eye's flying open. The voice had been right next to his ear.

A quiet chuckle filled the room and silver eyes turned in the direction of the laughter and saw a figure leaning back into a chair. Neji squinted to see who it was but all he could see was bandages.

"Did I startle you?" The figure asked in a deep, oddly feminine voice 1. "I'm apologise." Though the voice sounded anything but apologetic, it seemed to be holding back amusement with every word.

The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He stared into the visible eye of the bandaged man and shuddered. It was a snake's eye, yellow with a slit pupil and abnormally large for the man's face.

Neji tried to get up and nearly screamed when he was stopped by a thick chain connected to a cuff on his leg, trapping him to the hospital bed. "What is this?" He demanded, in a voice shakier than he would have liked.

"Just a precaution. Now lay down, you've been very sick. You were near death when you were brought here." Neji didn't trust the man's intentions for a moment and glared furiously at him. Though the face was almost completely covered he could swear there was a grin on the face. "I see you're a stubborn one. Well, all the better I suppose, I would have no choice but to kill you if you were a weakling."

"I don't understand," he ground out, more frightened than he'd ever admit to anyone "who are you and what do you want with me?

The voice chuckled softly, as if that was the most amusing thing he had ever heard. "You've heard of me, I'm sure. In fact, I'd think that everyone in Konoha knows who I am by now." He stopped speaking for a moment and studied Neji. "But I think we'll hold off the introductions until I'm more myself." He stood up to leave.

Neji watched him go. "W-wait!"

The man didn't turn around and closed the door behind him, leaving the boy alone once more.

That was pretty much how things went for the next….he didn't even know how long it was. The room was completely cut off from the sun so he couldn't tell the passage of time. He had tried escaping several times but it was pretty much useless, the chain on his leg, the bed he was in, the entire room, in fact, seemed to be completely guarded against any form of jutsu. He was cut off from his chakra as long as he was in that room and was forced to rely on the bandaged man to keep him alive.

He had nearly lost it when he had tried to break the chain only to find that he couldn't feel his chakra. He didn't think he had ever felt so helpless. His chakra was always there, it was woven into his very being, it was in his blood and without it he felt crippled. He thought he would go insane as the time passed and he tried uselessly to break that damn chain or form an attack, anything.

The only thing that kept him together was the bandaged man. He was the only person Neji ever saw and the man would bring him food, clothes, books, everything he asked for….except for his freedom.

Neji wasn't stupid, he knew what was happening. But as much as he tried to fight it he could help but become attached to the bandaged man. He had tried to ignore the man when he would come into the room, and the man ignored him in return, coming in only to bring food (good food at that), or clean clothes or whatever else and then leaving again.

Neji broke quicker than he would have thought. Though he didn't know how long he had been in that dark room, chained to the hospital bed, but it felt too soon to crack. He remembered when it had happened. When he looked back he couldn't help but feel a deep burning shame. He was weak. His father would be ashamed.

That day the bandaged man brought him dinner, setting it down beside the bed. He turned to leave when Neji's hand, seemingly of its own free will, reached out and grabbed his arm.

He paused and turned around, looking curiously at the boy. "Yes?" He asked softly.

Taking a deep breath Neji let go of his pride and whispered, "Stay. Please." He must have sounded pathetic. Hell, he sounded pathetic to his own ears but he couldn't stand it anymore. He was lonely.

The man reached out a thin, pale hand and tucked Neji's loose hair behind his ear. "Of course. You only had to ask."

It was Neji who had taken the first step and like it or not he knew he was falling into the bandaged mans trap but he couldn't help it. He needed some human contact. He needed to talk to somebody, anybody. The bandaged man became his companion, spending hours sitting with him. He never learned much about the man as he obviously wanted to keep his identity a secret, but that didn't matter, Neji was just happy to be able to speak to someone again. Even though he wasn't a big talker he soon found himself opening up to the man, telling him things he had never told another person, things about his family, about his hatred of being from the 'branch' house, the cursed seal on his forehead, everything.

He trusted a man, whose face he had never even seen, with thoughts that he had never shared with his own family. After a while he even stopped being creeped out by him, he got over the snake-like eye, the odd mannerism, that strange voice and began to truly enjoy his company.

It was a while later, after he had gotten comfortable with the man that he was finally able to see him without his bandages on. When he came in Neji was shocked and could feel his stomach turning, first because didn't recognize him and was afraid the bandaged man had abandoned him, secondly because of the strange mans appearance. He looked like a demon or a snake wearing human flesh. It wasn't that he was repulsive, in fact he was rather attractive, but something about him didn't seem quite right, he didn't seem entirely human or entirely real.

His skin was white, deathly white, like a corpse and was a sharp contrast to the long inky black hair. The pale face was long and angular making his cheek bones all the more prominent, his nose seemed to be the only thing that fit his face at all. His mouth was very shapely but to long for his face which only reinforced the snake-like appearance. But the eyes were what clinched it. They were beautiful, no doubt of that, but evil. They curved like a snakes and seemed all the more slanted because of the purple tattoos that went from the inside edges of his eye's almost to the bottom of his nose.

It was the eye's that Neji recognized, yellow, slitted eye's that seemed to glare even as his mouth smiled.

"You," he said.

The man laughed at his surprise. "Are you shocked? Am I what you expected, Hyuuga Neji?"

"Y-you look like a demon. A snake," He said, realizing a second to late that he probably should have been more flattering to the man who held his fate in his hands.

Rather than being angry or embarrassed the man grinned widely, making his mouth stretch abnormally wide. "I'll have to thank Kabuto for bringing you here. You really are more than I expected, so much like Sasuke and yet nothing at all like him. You two will make me very happy."

Neji didn't really follow what he had said; all he could hear were the two names echoing through his head.

Kabuto.

Sasuke.

He finally knew who this man was, his captor. Of course he had suspected it but with the bandages on it was hard to tell what he looked like. But now he knew. This was the man who had tried to destroy his home, the one who had killed the fourth Hokage and ruined so many lives.

"Orochimaru."

1 Don't know if you know this but Orochimaru's Japanese voice actor is actually a woman. Creepy, no? And, according to Wikipedia, in the Japanese version he speaks in 'very formal female japanese' to make him creepier. And when he's fighting the 4th Hokage and he takes off his 'face' he's actually a woman underneath and in the Chuunin exams he takes the body of the grass ninja who, surprise surprise, is also a woman.


	3. Bones

Of Cat's and Mice

Chapter 3: Bones

A/N: No, I haven't abandon this story. I took a little break due to writers block and real life but hopefully I'll be updating sooner than I have been.

This chapter is a bit short but it's more of a transition chapter than anything so it's probably not that good, but enjoy anyways.

And thanks to all you who reviewed and got me motivated to whip my muse back into action. XD

It had been several day's since the field. Several day's of walking, ceaseless walking, through a large, leafy forest that he didn't recognize. In all those day's he had yet to see another living person but that didn't phase him, he was used to being alone and he almost preferred it.

Though his memory was gone Kimimaro could feel a life and energy building inside of him that he knew had been absent for too long.

Health. That was what it was, he was regaining his health after being sick for so long. He didn't quite remember how or why he had been sick but the lingering ache and sickness wasn't going to be missed once it was gone and for the most part he was content. He was healing and the forest was peaceful and quiet, giving him time to sort out the few thoughts he had.

His mind was refreshingly blank, filled mostly with thoughts about the sunlight through the trees and green eyes. The only thing bothering him was a strange condition he had discovered by accident while trying to catch a rabbit.

After days of scrounging around for whatever he could find to eat, Kimimaro had no choice but to try and catch something. It didn't take long to find a fat little bunny rabbit peering out at him from beneath a bush. They stared at each other for a while and Kimimaro felt a strange reluctance to kill the fluffy thing but his stomach would hear none of it.

In a move that he would admit was stupid afterwards, Kimimaro lunged for the white puff ball and almost made it when his fingers seemed to explode outwards. White projectiles flying out of the tips of his fingers and lodging in to the ground, scaring away his meal.

It had sent a strange chill through him. Kimimaro crawled over to the spot where the bunny had been and dug up one of the white projectiles. It was pretty small and sort of familiar looking. Kind of like a strange rock or a bone.

A second later he dropped the white thing as if it had burned him.

It couldn't be his bone. Kimimaro checked his fingertips to assure himself that his bones were all present and accounted for, and they were, but he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that follwoed him. Kimimaro left the area, trying to convince himself it wasn't what he thought but even so he _knew, _somewhere deep in his mind he knew.

It was confirmed only hours later when he happened to look down and saw the bones of his fingertips slowly sliding out of his skin, dropping soundlessly to the ground one by one.

Ever since then it had only gotten worse. He couldn't control it, his bones just wouldn't stay under his skin. The night before he woke up to find himself suspended half a foot in the air, his spine lodged into the ground below him. Before that he was walking and his ribs exploded out of his chest, disappearing back under his skin just as quickly and leaving him shaken the rest of the day.

It was one of many clues that said he wasn't normal. No matter how bad his memory was he was fully aware that bones were supposed to remain out of sight. It scared him. He wanted to pretend it didn't exist and he was normal but it continued to happen until he was forced to try and stop it, to control this strange ability.

It started slowly, extending the bones of his fingers and inch and then forcing it back. He found it wasn't as easy to get the bones back once they were outside his skin. They were like animals trapped in a cage that had to be reigned back in with a firm hand. Eventually he was able to control the tips of his fingers with little problem, though it was always easier to shoot them out like they had done that first day. Pulling the bones back in took a lot out of him and with his weak health Kimimaro decided it was best not to press his luck.

But at least he didn't have to worry about food anymore. The bone projectiles allowed him to catch his prey at a distance. He didn't really see what other use his ability was good for and ignored it if he could.

It wasn't until he reached the end of the forest that Kimimaro was forced to put his ability to true use. He was aware that he was young and looked deceptively weak, aware in that half conscious way where he wasn't exactly sure where this knowledge had come from, but he knew that he looked like a potential victim. However, it never once crossed his mind to be on the look out for danger. This was probably how danger found him so swiftly.

The moment he left the safety of the trees he was surrounded by three men, all wielding sharp, obviously well used weapons and grinning triumphantly. Obviously they had been following him for some time and were waiting for a clear shot to make their move. They were all large and scarred, that took Kimimaro aback. He knew there were other people in the world but the only one he could recall was the green eyed boy. The sigh of these rough, battle hardened men surprised him...but were somewhat familiar.

He had met men like these before but the moment he tried to conjure up the memory it disappeared like smoke.

Kimimaro paused for a moment, eying the three men before posing the question that had been haunting him for days. "Do you know where I can find the green eyed boy?"

The men seemed to take this as an invitation, lunging towards him clumsily. Kimimaro cried out in surprise, stumbling backwards into the trees when he was suddenly thrown back by a powerful thrust from his chest.

Almost as in slow motion his ribs tore through the skin of his chest and into the torsos of the three men who screamed in horror before falling silent, going limp like grim marionettes who's string had been cut.

It took no more than a few seconds but it felt like forever until the bones retreated back under his skin, allowing the men to fall heavily to the ground.

Kimimaro looked down at his unmarred chest, not quite believing what had happened. He didn't feel guilt...not exactly, but he felt a strange sort of regret. He didn't care about the men who probably would have killed him without a second thought, it was the act of killing them that shook him.

It was far to easy. He felt as though there should have been some big dramatic finish or a voice from the heavens condemning him but there was nothing. Only the silence of the forest and his own regret for having taken not one, but three lives.

He was tempted to just walk away and continue his search for the green eyed boy but something stopped him. He wasn't a cold-blooded murderer. He couldn't walk away from the bodies, leaving them to the animals. So Kimimaro spent the next day digging shallow graves for the three men with his bare hands, cutting and bruising them in the process, but with a deep sense of satisfaction when he was done.

Kimimaro knew it was somehow symbolic but he didn't know how. All he knew for certain was that when he walked away from the forest and into the desert lands that he had changed somehow. He was slowly wiping away his unknown past, leaving it behind him in the graves of the three men. His past didn't matter, only his future and he was nearer to the green eyed boy who could possibly give him some answers.

A/N: Short and sweet. The next chapter will be longer and will feature Neji and Orochimaru.


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